Assistant Commissioner, Collections

City of New York•New York City, NY

18h

About The Position

NYC Department of Finance (DOF) is responsible for administering the tax revenue laws of the city fairly, efficiently, and transparently to instill public confidence and encourage compliance while providing exceptional customer service. DOF's Customer Operations Division has oversight of the Department of Finance business centers, City Register's Office, and the Land Records, Adjudication, and Collections divisions. Customer Operations is charged with the processing of tax payments, parking violations payments, and all other charges collected by DOF. The division is also responsible for recording property transfers, adjudicating parking and camera violations, and managing the full life cycle of the department's enforcement activities related to unpaid business and excise taxes, parking fines, and Environmental Control Board summonses. The Collections Division is responsible for managing the full life cycle of the Department of Finance's enforcement activities related to unpaid business and excise taxes, parking fines, and Environmental Control Board summonses. The debt collection process involves specialized professional collectors, experienced in the art of negotiation, who provide debtors with options and encourage full payment. The division utilizes several collection tools to enforce compliance, including notices, telephone dunning, outside collection agencies, and special projects aimed at locating and taking enforcement actions against assets. DOF's Customer Operations Division is seeking an experienced, strategic and dynamic leader to serve as the Assistant Commissioner for the Collections division. This role offers a unique opportunity to lead one of the city's most impactful revenue operations, enhancing compliance, modernizing systems, and ensuring fairness and fiscal responsibility on behalf of all New Yorkers. Reporting to the Deputy Commissioner of Customer Operations, the Assistant Commissioner will provide strategic and operational leadership over all aspects of DOF's collections functions.

Requirements

IMPORTANT NOTE: ONLY CANDIDATES WHO HAVE A PERMANENT ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF ANALYST OR COMPARABLE CIVIL SERVICE TITLE WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR AN INTERVIEW. PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR EMPLOYEE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (EIN) WHEN APPLYING AND INDICATE IN YOUR COVER LETTER YOUR PERMANENT TITLE
1. A master's degree from an accredited college in economics, finance, accounting, business or public administration, public health, human resources management, management science, operations research, organizational behavior, industrial psychology, statistics, personnel administration, labor relations, psychology, sociology, human resources development, political science, urban studies or a Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school, and two years of satisfactory full-time professional experience in one or a combination of the following: working with the budget of a large public or private concern in budget administration, accounting, economic or financial administration, or fiscal or economic research; or in management or methods analysis, operations research, organizational research or program evaluation; or in personnel or public administration, recruitment, position classification, personnel relations, labor relations, employee benefits, staff development, employment program planning/administration, labor market research, economic planning, social services program planning/evaluation, or fiscal management. Eighteen (18) months of this experience must have been in an executive, managerial, administrative, or supervisory capacity. Supervision must have included supervising staff performing professional work in the areas described above.
2. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and four years of satisfactory full-time professional experience in the areas described in “1” above, including the 18 months of executive, managerial, administrative, or supervisory experience, as described in “1” above.
3. An associate degree or completion of 60 semester credits from an accredited college and six years of satisfactory full-time professional experience as described in “1” above, including the 18 months of executive, managerial, administrative, or supervisory experience, as described in “1” above.
4. A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent approved by a State’s department of education or a recognized accrediting organization and eight years of satisfactory full-time professional experience as described in “1” above, including the 18 months of executive, managerial, administrative, or supervisory experience, as described in “1” above.
5. A combination of education and/or experience equivalent to “1”, “2”, “3”, or “4” above. College education may be substituted for professional experience at the rate of 30 semester credits from an accredited college for one year of experience. However, all candidates must have a high school diploma and at least two years of experience as described in “1” above, including the 18 months of executive, managerial, administrative, or supervisory experience, as described in “1” above.

Responsibilities

Provide executive leadership and strategic direction for all collections functions, develop and implement strategies that optimize collections, strengthen compliance, and improve operational efficiency in alignment with agency goals.
Direct all aspects of collections operations and optimize operational capacity and resource allocation to meet demand from call center activities, payment processing, and other collections functions.
Oversee the full life cycle of delinquent accounts, monitor revenue targets, and ensure timely and effective resolution and recovery. Provide direct oversight of third-party collection agencies and ensure performance, compliance, and accountability.
Lead the modernization and administration of collections systems, including legacy system enhancements and automation initiatives. Leverage technology and data to improve operational efficiency and support enforcement across all debt programs.
Evaluate and refine existing policies and procedures to strengthen performance and compliance. Develop new policies, best practices, and data standards to support efficient operations.
Oversee data integrity, management, analytics, and reporting to guide decision-making and performance, and to identify system issues and areas of opportunity. Address real-time processing and data synchronization challenges.
Enhance enforcement efforts to ensure fairness, maximize revenue recovery, and promote voluntary compliance.
Lead, mentor, and support a high-performing team. Provide continuous training to ensure staff are knowledgeable about evolving laws, regulations, best practices, customer service, and technologies affecting collections.
Maintain strong working relationships with internal and external partners, and government stakeholders. Lead and support multi-stakeholder initiatives and provide informed guidance to senior leadership on strategic collections priorities.
Identify and analyze recurring errors, process gaps, and operational risks to support continuous improvement efforts. Implement sustainable corrective actions to improve accuracy, strengthen processes, and enhance overall program integrity.
Manage outsourcing initiatives when cost-effective. Oversee vendor performance and compliance with agency standards, and secure specialized training and resources to support staff development and collections effectiveness.